System and method for shipping, delivery, manifesting, and returns

ABSTRACT

A preferred embodiment of a version of the invention is directed to a system that streamlines and manages the process of managing shipments, deliveries, returns, customers and manifesting. A preferred implementation comprises a system that is based on user&#39;s being grouped with specific customers and each specific customer&#39;s information being grouped separately from other customers in the system. Preferably, the system comprises permission levels for granting user&#39;s access to specific customer information. Permission levels may grant users access to customer specific or system wide information. A preferred implementation further comprises a system for creating manifests and a mobile manifest application.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

A preferred implementation of a version of the invention refers to asystem and method for managing shipping, delivering, customers,manifesting, and returns of items. A preferred embodiment of the systemand method is directed to automotive parts.

BACKGROUND

Shipment management and manifesting systems have been used to handleproduct shipments and returns. Generally, current shipment managementand manifesting systems store shipment information in a system, providelimited tracking capability, and limited delivery confirmationcapability. Other systems are capable of creating a manifest based onspecific deliveries in a driver's route. Other systems are based oncreating a tracking number or system for a package.

One problem is that multiple systems must be utilized for a company toeffectively manage shipping, returns, tracking, and manifesting on alocal level. Many systems provide limited information to the sender andreceiver, and do not allow for customized instructions, shipments, andmanifests. Additionally, current shipment management and manifestingsystems do not allow multiple customers to utilize the same system inorder to streamline the manifesting, shipping, and returns processing.Similarly, current shipment management and manifesting systems do notallow multiple customers to create a joint manifest on a local level.Furthermore, currently available systems and methods generally do notallow for customer specific manifesting options and preferences.

Accordingly, there is a need for a single system capable of helpingclients manage labeling, manifesting, shipping, delivering, and returns.Additionally, there is a need for a system capable of allowing severalclients to create joint manifests, with each client handling its ownshipment and return information.

SUMMARY

In accordance with one aspect of the principles of the invention, asystem and method for managing shipping, delivery, customers,manifesting, and returns of items are provided. The system may comprisemultiple clients and servers. At least one of the clients or servers isconfigured to allow a user to be associated with a customer and manageshipping, delivery, customers, manifesting, and returns.

According to another aspect, a system for providing customer informationto a user based on permission levels is provided. The system maycomprise a processor for determining a user's permission level foraccessing and manipulating certain stored customer information andactions. One implementation of the invention comprises system wide andcustomer specific permission levels for controlling the level of accessa user has to information stored on a database.

According to yet another aspect, a system and method for manifesting isprovided. In one implementation, users with certain permission levelsmay create manifests for deliveries and returns. The system may includea mobile application in which a delivery driver may access a manifestfrom his mobile device. In yet another implementation a driver maycommunicate with a user having certain permission levels in real timethrough the system. The system further comprises a method of manifestingshipments and returns, managing delivery drivers, and overseeingdelivery driver activity.

Additional features and advantages of the invention will be set forth inthe description which follows, and will be apparent from thedescription, or may be learned by practice of the invention. Theforegoing general description and the following detailed description areexemplary and explanatory and are intended to provide furtherexplanation of the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the presentinvention will become better understood with regard to the followingdescription, appended claims, and accompanying drawings where:

FIG. 1 is a diagram of an example environment in which techniquesdescribed herein may be implemented;

FIG. 2 is an exemplary diagram of a client of FIG. 1 according to animplementation consistent with the principles of the invention;

FIG. 3 is a diagram of an example of a generic computing device and ageneric mobile computing device;

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example system configurationaccording to an implementation consistent with the principles of theinvention;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of exemplary processing for handling a shipmentaccording to an implementation consistent with the principles of theinvention;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of exemplary processing for handling a returnaccording to another implementation consistent with the principles ofthe invention;

FIG. 7 illustrates an example user interface for dispatchers to viewshipments; and

FIG. 8 illustrates an example user interface for a delivery driver'smobile application according to an implementation consistent with theprinciples of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the Summary above and in this Detailed Description, and the claimsbelow, and in the accompanying drawings, reference is made to particularfeatures, including method steps, of the invention. It is to beunderstood that the disclosure of the invention in this specificationincludes all possible combinations of such particular features. Forexample, where a particular feature is disclosed in the context of aparticular aspect or embodiment of the invention, or a particular claim,that feature can also be used, to the extent possible, in combinationwith/or in the context of other particular aspects of the embodiments ofthe invention, and in the invention generally.

The term “comprises” and grammatical equivalents thereof are used hereinto mean that other components, steps, etc. are optionally present. Forexample, a system “comprising” components A, B, and C can contain onlycomponents A, B, and C, or can contain not only components A, B, and C,but also one or more other components.

The terms “customer actions and data” are used herein to mean anyactions and information relating to a customer's orders, tracking,shipping, delivery, returns, and manifesting. For example, storing a“customer's actions and data” in a database can may refer to storing anyinformation relating customer's shipping information, or a receivingparty's information. As set forth herein, the actions and data may besupplied from text fields, or tags, as disclosed herein.

The terms “customer identification information” and “user identificationinformation” are used herein to mean any identification informationrelating to a customer or user, respectively. For example, thisinformation may include addressees, phone number, specified users of acustomer, and other similar identification information. Further,customer identification information and user identification informationmay further comprise any form of identification that may be used toverify the identification of a customer or a user. Customeridentification and/or user identification information may comprise logincredentials, device recognition, or any other method for verifying one'sidentity.

Where reference is made herein to a method comprising two or moredefined steps, the defined steps can be carried out in any order orsimultaneously (except where the context excludes that possibility), andthe method can include one or more other steps which are carried outbefore any of the defined steps, between two of the defined steps, orafter all the defined steps (except where the context excludes thatpossibility).

Systems and methods consistent with the principles of the invention mayprovide solutions for managing shipping and delivery, customers,manifesting, and returns, and provide extensive reporting capability.For example, the systems and methods may permit users to ship, deliver,manifest and track automotive parts. The systems and methods may allowfor various functionality related to said shipments, deliveries, andmanifests.

FIG. 1 is a diagram of a example environment 100 in which techniquesdescribed herein may be implemented. Environment 100 may includemultiple clients 105 connected to one or more servers 110-140 via anetwork 150. In some implementations, and as illustrated, server 110 maybe a search server, that may implement a search engine; and server 120may be a document indexing server, e.g, a web crawler; and servers 130and 140 may be general web servers, such as servers that provide contentto clients 105. Clients 105 and servers 110-140 may be connected tonetwork 250 via wired, wireless, or a combination of wired and wirelessconnections.

Three clients 105 and four servers 110-140 are illustrated as connectedto network 150 for simplicity. In practice, there may be additional orfewer clients and servers. Also, in some instances, a client may performthe functions of a server and a server may perform the functions of aclient.

Clients 105 may include devices of users that access servers 110-140. Aclient 105 may include, for instance, a personal computer, a wirelesstelephone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a laptop, a smart phone,a tablet computer, or another type of computation or communicationdevice. Servers 110-140 may include devices that access, fetch,aggregate, process, search, provide, and/or maintain documents. Althoughshown as single components 110, 120, 130, and 140 in FIG. 1, each server110-140 may, in some implementations, be implemented as multiplecomputing devices, which potentially may be geographically distributed.

Search server 110 may include one or more computing devices designed toimplement a search engine, such as a documents/records search engine,general webpage search engine, etc. Search server 110 may, for example,include one or more web servers to receive search queries and/or inputsfrom clients 105, search one or more databases in response to the searchqueries and/or inputs, and provide documents or information, relevant tothe search queries and/or inputs, to clients 105. In someimplementations, search server 110 may include a web search server thatmay provide webpages to clients 205, where a provided webpage mayinclude a reference to a web server, such as one of web servers 130 or140, at which the desired information and/or links is located. Thereferences, to the web server at which the desired information islocated, may be included in a frame and/or text box, or as a link to thedesired information/document.

Document indexing server 120 may include one or more computing devicesdesigned to index documents available through network 150. Documentindexing server 120 may access other servers, such as web servers thathost content, to index the content. In some implementations, documentindexing server 120 may index documents/records stored by other servers,such as web servers 130 and 140 and, connected to network 150. Documentindexing server 120 may, for example, store and index content,information, and documents relating to customer shipments, deliveries,and returns.

Web servers 130 and 140 may each include web servers that providewebpages to clients. The webpages may be, for example, HTML-basedwebpages. A web server 130/140 may host one or more websites. A website,as the term is used herein, may refer to a collection of relatedwebpages. Frequently, a website may be associated with a single domainname, although some websites may potentially encompass more than onedomain name. The concepts described herein may be applied on aper-website basis. Alternatively, in some implementations, the conceptsdescribed herein may be applied on a per-webpage basis.

While servers 110-140 are shown as separate entities, it may be possiblefor one or more servers 110-140 to perform one or more of the functionsof another one or more of servers 110-140. For example, it may bepossible that two or more of servers 110-140 are implemented as a singleserver. It may also be possible for one of servers 110-140 to beimplemented as multiple, possibly distributed, computing devices.

Network 150 may include one or more networks of any kind, including, butnot limited to, a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), atelephone network, such as the Public Switched Telephone Network (PTSN),an intranet, the Internet, a memory device, another type of network, ora combination of networks.

Although FIG. 1 shows example components of environment 100, in otherimplementations, environment 100 may contain fewer components, differentcomponents, differently arranged components, and/or additionalcomponents than those depicted in FIG. 1. Alternatively, oradditionally, one or more components of environment 100 may perform oneor more other tasks described as being performed by one or more othercomponents of environment 200.

FIG. 2 is an exemplary diagram of a user/client 105 or server entity(hereinafter called “client/server entity”), which may correspond to oneor more of the clients and servers, according to an implementationconsistent with the principles of the invention. The client/serverentity 105 may include a bus 210, a processor 220, a main memory 230, aread only memory (ROM) 240, a storage device 250, one or more inputdevices 260, one or more output devices 270, and a communicationinterface 280. Bus 210 may include one or more conductors that permitcommunication among the components of the client/server entity 105.

Processor 220 may include any type of conventional processor ormicroprocessor that interprets and executes instructions. Main memory230 may include a random access memory (RAM) or another type of dynamicstorage device that stores information and instructions for execution byprocessor 220. ROM 240 may include a conventional ROM device or anothertype of static storage device that stores static information andinstructions for use by processor 220. Storage device 250 may include amagnetic and/or optical recording medium and its corresponding drive.

Input device(s) 260 may include one or more conventional mechanisms thatpermit an operator to input information to the client/server entity 105,such as a keyboard, a mouse, a pen, voice recognition and/or biometricmechanisms, etc. Output device(s) 270 may include one or moreconventional mechanisms that output information to the operator,including a display, a printer, a speaker, etc. Communication interface280 may include any transceiver-like mechanism that enables theclient/server entity 105 to communicate with other devices 105 and/orsystems. For example, communication interface 280 may include mechanismsfor communicating with another device 105 or system via a network, suchas network 150.

As will be described in detail below, the client/server entity 105,consistent with the principles of the invention, performs certainsearch, recording, and tracking operations. The client/server entity 105may perform these operations in response to processor 220 executingsoftware instructions contained in a computer-readable medium, such asmemory 230. A computer-readable medium may be defined as one or morephysical or logical memory devices and/or carrier waves.

The software instructions may be read into memory 230 from anothercomputer-readable medium, such as data storage device 250, or fromanother device via communication interface 280. The softwareinstructions contained in memory 230 causes processor 220 to performprocesses that will be described later. Alternatively, hardwiredcircuitry may be used in place of or in combination with softwareinstructions to implement processes consistent with the principles ofthe invention. Thus, implementations consistent with the principles ofthe invention are not limited to any specific combination of hardwarecircuitry and software.

FIG. 3 is a diagram of an example of a generic computing device 300 anda generic mobile computing device 350, which may be used with thetechniques described here. Generic computing device 300 or genericmobile computing device 350 may correspond to, for example, a client 205and or a server 210-240. Computing device 300 is intended to representvarious forms of digital computers, such as laptops, desktops,workstations, personal digital assistants, servers, mainframes, andother appropriate computers. Mobile computing device 350 is intended torepresent various forms of mobile devices, such as personal digitalassistants, cellular telephones, smart phones, tablet computers, andother similar computing devices. The components show in FIG. 3, theirconnections and relationships, and their functions, are meant to beexamples only, and are not meant to limit implementations describedherein.

Computing device 300 may include a processor 302, a memory 304, astorage device 306, a high-speed interface 308 connecting to a memory304 and high-speed expansion ports 310, and a low-speed interface 312connecting to a low-speed expansion port 314 and a storage device 306.Each of components 302, 304, 306, 308, 310, 312, and 314 areinterconnected using various buses, and may be mounted on a commonmotherboard or in other manners as appropriate. Processor 302 canprocess instructions for execution within computing device 300,including instructions stored in memory 304 or on storage device 306 todisplay graphical information for a graphical user interface (GUI) on anexternal input/output device, such as display 316 coupled to high-speedinterface 308. In other implementations, multiple processors and/ormultiple buses may be used, as appropriate, along with multiple memoriesand types of memory. Also, multiple computing devices 300 may beconnected, with each device providing portions of the necessaryoperations, as a server bank, a group of blade servers, or amulti-processor system, etc.

Memory 304 stores information within computing device 300. In someimplementations, memory 304 includes a volatile memory unit or units. Inanother implementation, memory 304 may include a non-volatile memoryunit or units. Memory 304 may also be another form of computer-readablemedium, such as a magnetic or optical disk. A computer-readable mediummay refer to a non-transitory memory device. A memory device may referto storage space within a single storage device or spread acrossmultiple storage devices.

Storage device 306 is capable of providing mass storage for computingdevice 300. In some implementations, storage device 306 may be orcontain a computer-readable medium, such as a hard disk device, anoptical disk device, or a tape device, a flash memory or other similarsolid state memory device, or an array of devices, including devices ina storage area network or other configurations. A computer programproduct can be tangibly embodied in an information carrier. The computerprogram product may also contain instructions that, when executed,perform one or more methods, such as those described herein. Theinformation carrier is a computer or machine-readable medium, such asmemory 304, storage device 306, or a memory on processor 302.

High-speed interface 308 manages bandwidth-intensive operations forcomputing device 300, while low-speed interface 312 manages lowerbandwidth-intensive operations. Such allocation of functions is anexample only. In some implementations, high-speed interface 308 iscoupled to memory 304, display 316, such as through a graphics processoror accelerator, and to high-speed expansion ports 310, which may acceptvarious expansion cards. In this implementation, low-speed interface 312may be coupled to storage device 306 and low-speed expansion port 314.Low-speed expansion port 314, which may include various communicationports, such as USB, Bluetooth, Ethernet, wireless Ethernet, etc., may becoupled to one or more input/output devices, such as a keyboard, apointing device, a scanner, or a networking device such as switch orrouter, e.g., through a network adapter.

Computing device 300 may be implemented in a number of different forms,as shown in the figures. For example, computing device 300 may beimplemented as a standard server 320, or in a group of such servers.Computing device 300 may also be implemented as part of a rack serversystem 324. In addition, computing device 300 may be implemented in apersonal computer, such as a laptop computer 322. Alternatively,components from computing device 300 may be combined with othercomponents in a mobile device, such as mobile computing device 350. Eachof such devices may contain one or more computing devices 300, 350, andan entire system may be made up of multiple computing devices 300, 350communicating with each other.

Mobile computing device 350 may include a processor 352, a memory 364,an input/output (“I/O”) device, such as a display 354, a communicationinterface 366, and a transceiver 368, among other components. Mobilecomputing device 350 may also be provided with a storage device, such asa micro-drive or other device, to provide additional storage. Each ofthe components 352, 364, 354, 366, and 368 are interconnected usingvarious buses, and several of the components may be mounted on a commonmotherboard or in other manners as appropriate.

Processor 352 can execute instructions within mobile computing device350, including instructions stored in memory 364. Processor 352 may beimplemented as a chipset of chips that include separate and multipleanalog and digital processors. Processor 352 may provide, for example,for coordination of the other components of mobile computing device 350,such as control of user interfaces, applications run by mobile computingdevice 350, and wireless communication by mobile computing device 350.

Processor 352 may communicate with a user through control interface 358and display interface 356 coupled to a display 354. Display 354 may be,for example, a TFT LCD (Thin-Film-Transistor Liquid Crystal Display) oran OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode) display or other appropriatedisplay technology. Display interface 356 may include appropriatecircuitry for driving display 354 to present graphical and otherinformation to a user. Control interface 358 may receive commands from auser and convert the commands for submission to processor 352. Inaddition, an external interface 362 may be provided in communicationwith processor 352, so as to enable near area communication of mobilecomputing device 350 with other devices. External interface 362 mayprovide, for example, for wired communications in some implementations,or for wireless communication in other implementations, and multipleinterfaces may also be used.

Memory 364 stores information within mobile computing device 350. Memory364 can be implemented as one or more of a computer-readable medium ormedia, a volatile memory unit or units, or a non-volatile memory unit orunits. Expansion memory 374 may also be provided and connected to mobilecomputing device 350 through expansion interface 372, which may include,for example, a SIMM (Single In Line Memory Module) card interface. Suchexpansion memory 374 may provide extra storage space for device 350, ormay also store applications or other information for mobile computingdevice 350. Specifically, expansion memory 374 may include instructionsto carry out or supplement the processes described herein, and mayinclude secure information also. Thus, for example, expansion memory 374may be provided as a security module for mobile computing device 350,and may be programmed with instructions that permit secure use of mobilecomputing device 350. In addition, secure applications may be providedvia the SIMM cards, along with additional information, such as placingidentifying information on the SIMM card in a non-hackable manner.

Expansion memory 374 may include, for example, flash memory and/or NVRAMmemory. In some implementations, a computer program product is tangiblyembodied in an information carrier. The computer program productcontains instructions that, when executed, perform one or more methods,such as those described herein. The information carrier is a computer-or machine readable-medium, such as memory 364, expansion memory 374, ora memory on processor 352, that may be received, for example, overtransceiver 368 or external interface 362.

Mobile computing device 350 may communicate wirelessly throughcommunication interface 366, which may include digital signal processingcircuitry where necessary. Communication interface 366 may provide forcommunications under various modes or protocols, such as GSM voicecalls, SMS, EMS or MMS messaging, CDMA, TDMA, PDC, WCDMA, CDMA2000, orGPRS, among others. Such communication may occur, for example, throughtransceiver 368. In addition, short-range communication may occur, suchas using a Bluetooth, WiFi, or other such transceiver. In addition, GPS(Global Positioning System) received module 370 may provide additionalnavigation- and location-related wireless data to mobile computingdevice 350, which may be used as appropriate by applications running onmobile computing device 350.

Mobile computing device 350 may also communicate audibly using audiocodec 360, which may receive spoken information from a user and covertthe received spoken information to digital information. Audio codec 360may likewise generate audible sound for a user, such as through aspeaker, e.g., in a handset of mobile computing device 350. Such soundmay include sound from voice telephone calls, may include recordedsound, such as voice messages, music files, etc., and may also includesound generated by applications operating on mobile computing device350.

Mobile computing device 350 may be implemented in a number of differentforms, as shown in the figure. For example, mobile computing device 350may be implemented as a cellular telephone 380. Mobile computing device350 may also be implemented as part of a smart phone 382, personaldigital assistant, or other similar mobile device.

Various implementations described herein can be realized in digitalelectronic circuitry, integrated circuitry, specially designed ASICs(application specific integrated circuits), computer hardware, firmware,software, and/or combinations thereof. These various implementations caninclude implementations in one or more computer programs that areexecutable and/or interpretable on a programmable system including atleast one programmable processor, which may be special or generalpurpose, coupled to receive data and instructions from, and to transmitdata and instructions to, a storage system, at least one input device,and at least one output device.

These computer programs, also known as programs, software, softwareapplications, or code, include machine instructions for a programmableprocessor, and can be implemented in a high-level procedural and/orobject-oriented programming language, and/or in assembly/machinelanguage. As used herein, the terms “machine-readable medium” and“computer-readable medium” refer to any apparatus and/or device, such asmagnetic discs, optical disks, memory, Programmable Logic Devices(“PLDs”), used to provide machine instructions and/or data to aprogrammable processor, including a machine-readable medium thatreceives machine instructions as a machine-readable signal. The term“machine-readable signal” refers to any signal used to provide machineinstructions and/or data to a programmable processor.

The contents of computer-readable medium may physically reside in one ormore memory devices accessible by server. Computer-readable medium mayinclude a database of entries corresponding to shipping, returns,tracking, manifesting, and customer management. Each of the entries mayinclude, but are not limited to, shipping customer, receiving customer,quantity, quantity type, reference number, type, tag, flags, comments,and issue date, and other fields. The information fields store in adatabase a user or customers's information as set forth herein. Saidfields are customizable and may include additional or alternative fieldsbased on the user's needs. Said information is accessible through theserver.

To provide for interaction with a user, the techniques described hereincan be implemented on a computer having a display device, such as a CRT(cathode ray tube), LCD (liquid crystal display), or LED (Light EmittingDiode) monitor, for displaying information to the user and a keyboardand a pointing device by which the user can provide input to thecomputer. Other kinds of devices can be used to provide for interactionwith a user as well; for example, feedback provided to the user can beany form of sensory feedback, such as visual feedback, auditoryfeedback, or tactile feedback; and input from the user can be receivedin any form, including acoustic, speech, or tactile input.

The techniques described herein can be implemented in a computing systemthat includes a back end component, such as a data server, or thatincludes a middleware component, such as an application server, or thatincludes a front end component, such as a client computer having agraphical user interface or Web browser through which a user caninteract with an implementation of the techniques described here, or anycombination of such back end, middleware, or front end components. Thecomponents of the system can be interconnected by any form of medium ofdigital communication.

A preferred implementation of the invention discloses a system andmethod for managing multiple daily same-route deliveries for small,medium and large organizations or dealers. The invention discloses acomplete system for managing shipments. The system comprises a usermanagement system allowing an administrator to group users by individualorganizations or dealers (customers) and limit their access to onlyshipping information for their dealer, or setup system wide users whomanage the overall network. The system further comprises a comprehensiveshipment management system that tracks all of the information passingthrough the system and makes it available for later use. The systemfurther comprises return management allowing customers to requestreturns online while using the historical information in the system toverify the accuracy of the request. The system further comprisesreporting tools to export useful analytics from the system in variousformats including HTML and Excel.

In a preferred embodiment, the system is written in C# and utilizesMicrosoft ASP.NET. However, it is understood that embodiments of theinvention disclosed herein may be created from any language using anyframework. In one implementation the system comprises a suite of webservices that power all of the applications and tools that comprise thesystem. For example, web-based management tools, as well as theweb-based delivery application, both interface with the same set ofservices.

As illustrated in FIG. 4, in a preferred embodiment, the systemcomprises at least one database 410 where all customer actions and dataare stored. It is understood that the system may comprise more than onedatabase for storing information. In a preferred embodiment, eachcustomer 420 is unique and must have a unique identification number wheneach customer 420 is added to the system. Preferably, each customer 420uses a unique ten digit phone number when each customer account iscreated. Additionally, a unique identifier may be provided by thesystem. Additional customer information, such as physical address, mayalso be stored at the time said customer account is created.

FIG. 4 shows a simple representation of an exemplar architecture of aversion of the current invention. In one embodiment the system utilizesa database management system such as Microsoft SQL or similar. It isunderstood that various servers may be used to access stored data. Users430 must connect through a service or server before accessing storeddata. This ensures all access to the database 410 has been authenticatedand restricts users 430 to changes within their permission level, as setforth herein.

In a preferred embodiment, a user 430 uses a web browser to navigate toa system website. The system website comprises a plurality of web pages.In a preferred embodiment, each webpage is accessed via tabs on thesystem website homepage or other system webpage. Links or tabs allow auser 430 to navigate from one page to another. Implementations of theinvention further comprise web-based forms with text fields therein. Ina preferred embodiment, said text fields auto populate predeterminedforms, webpages, databases, servers, or other targeted destinations. Inone embodiment, a user accesses a webpage that accesses a database via aserver.

As illustrated in FIG. 4, the overall system comprises at least onesystem database 410 for storing information. Various customers 420, ororganizations, store their information in a system database 410. Eachcustomer's information is accessible only to those users 430 havingspecific permission to access said information. This is especiallyadvantageous if an administrator has multiple organizations and/orcustomers 420 that are generating shipments but the administrator needseach customer 420 to mange its own shipment data. Generally, eachcustomer 420 may have one of more users 430.

As further illustrated in FIG. 4, the invention discloses customer 440and system 450 roles. These roles determine what data each user 430 mayaccess. There are no specific requirements on the number of roles440/450 assigned to a user 430. A user 430 can exist in the systemwithout a singe role 440/450 assigned to him. Or, a user 430 may have upto one of each role 440/450 in the system assigned to him. The primaryCustomer roles 440 are manager, shipper, and sales associate. It isunderstood that additional or alternative roles may be used in thesystem.

In a preferred implementation, the manager is the highest customer role440 for a single customer 420. This role allows a user 430 to generatereports, view shipment data, and manage customers. The manager roleallows a user 430 to view manifest routing in read-only mode. Thisallows a manager to track the progress without making changes to thedelivery process. Additionally, the manager role allows the user 430 toview and manage customers. A server provides customer 420 specificinformation from a database 410 based on that user's 430 permissionlevel.

Shippers have the ability to issue shipments and accept returns. Thesystem 400 provides shippers access to the shipping and returns list oftheir company. The shipper role provides a user 430 the ability tomanage shipments from the customer 420 that user 430 is associated with.Additionally, a shipper may view and manage returns for the customer 420that user 430 is associated with. A server provides customer 420specific information from a database 410 based on said user's 430permission level.

Sales associates have the ability to use the sales portion of thecustomer screen. This allows sales associates to track contacts,schedule callbacks, and make sales related notes for each customer. Asales associate has the ability to view shipments relating to thecustomer 420 to which it is associated as well as the ability to viewcustomers 420. A server provides customer 420 specific information froma database 410 based on that user's 430 permission level.

Implementations of the system rely on accurate customer information anddelivery lists to ensure shipments are delivered on time and to thecorrect locations. Since this customer information is the same used bymany sales forces, customer relationship management (CRM) functionalitymay be included in the system. The system's management interface mayfeature a robust suite of CRM tools that can help sales associates stayin touch with customers. In one embodiment, a system interface providesreports on sales activity for the customer. In yet another embodimentthe system comprises automatic notices to provide “tips” to salesassociates on which customers to follow-up with. Another embodimentallows a user to send bulk emails to customers based on various filters.

In some implementations sales associates are assigned to handle specificcustomers 420. The system allows them to quickly filter information foronly customers 420 they are responsible. In one implementation, saidfiltered information is provided to a user 430 based on his permissionlevels. This same functionality simplifies the process for organizationswith multiple associates to coordinate their sales force and ensurethere is no overlap in communication.

In a preferred embodiment, users 430 with required permission levels mayaccess a system reporting interface. The system reporting interfaceconsolidates customer 440 information and allows a user 430 to filtersaid information based on specific fields, sales, and other relevantcategories. Additionally, users 430 with required permission levels havethe ability to add other contact information or notes relating to aspecific customer 420. This information is stored in a system database410.

In a preferred implementation, the primary System roles 450 are superadministrator, administrator, dispatcher, and analytics. It isunderstood that additional or alternative roles may be used in thesystem 400. The super administrator is the owner of the system 400.There is only one super administrator for system 400. This role cannotbe revoked or changed. It allows a single point of contact to have allfinal decision making for an instance. Super administrators have theability to manage and add/remove users 430. Additionally, superadministrators can add/remove administrator roles from users 430. Aserver provides customer 420 specific information from a database 410based on that user's 430 permission level.

Administrators have control over users 430 and system 400 wideconfiguration options. Administrators are able to add/remove users 430and add/remove roles 440/450 for users 430. Administrators have theability to view and manage users 430. Additionally, administrators havethe ability to change system 400 configuration options. A serverprovides customer 420 specific information from a database 410 based onsaid user's 430 permission level.

Dispatchers have full access to all data in the system 400. They areresponsible for managing manifests and drivers. The concept of amanifest is simple—it is a collection of shipments and returns, groupedby customer 420, which can be used by a driver during the deliveryprocess. These manifests are stored in the system 400 electronically butcan also be printed and used as a physical manifest if desired.

The dispatcher role provides a user 430 access to view and manageshipments and returns. The dispatcher may have access to view, manage,and reconcile manifests. The dispatcher may view and manage drivers. Thedispatcher has the ability to assign manifests to drivers and trackdelivery progress through a mobile application. The dispatcher roleallows a user to view and manage customers 420 and routes. A serverprovides customer 420 specific information from a database 410 based onthat user's 430 permission level.

The analytics role provides a user 430 access to a reports section of aprogram dashboard. In a preferred embodiment, the reporting section ofthe dashboard allows a user 430 to generate reports. These reports arebased on templates. Preferably a base set of templates is included inall installations of the system. In addition, custom templates may becreated if needed for client specific reports. There reports use theinformation stored in the database 410.

Analytics users 430 are able to build reports for all customers 420 inthe system 400. Analytics users 430 have access to a report generationinterface. Analytics users 430 have access to view and manage contests.As set forth herein, contests are ways to generate lists based oncertain parameters. For example, these parameters can be based on numberof sales in a specific time period. These lists are then used to runcontests and select winners. A server provides customer 420 specificinformation from a database 410 based on that user's 430 permissionlevel.

As disclosed herein, shipments are records that track an invoice, ormultiple invoices, as well as package information, between a shippingcustomer 420 and a receiving customer 420. In an implementation of thepresent invention the shipping and receiving customer 420 arerepresented simply as “customers” 420 for the system. The primarydifference is that the shipping customer 420 also has users 430 who havebeen allowed to issue shipments within the system via the “shipper”role, as set forth herein.

When a shipment is issued the customer 420 who creates the shipment“owns” it, and it is thus segregated from other customers 420 who areusing the system to generate shipments. Thus, specific shipment data istagged as being a shipment related specifically to the shipping customer420 and is stored as such in a database 410.

According to a preferred implementation of the invention, a shipment maybe created via two methods. First, a user 430 with proper permissionsmay access the system management interface using an account that has ashipper role. In a preferred implementation, the management interface isaccessed via the system webpage. The user 430 then navigates to a“Create Shipment” form to manually create a shipment. In oneimplementation the “Create Shipment” form is a webpage comprising a webform with text fields. Preferably, a user 430 navigates to the systemwebpage to access the text fields making up said form. These fields maycomprise, but are not limited to shipping customer, receiving customer,quantity, quantity type, reference number, type, tag, flags, comments,and issue date. It is understood that additional or alternative fieldmay be added or used.

The shipping customer field describes the customer 420 who is creatingthe shipment. This customer 420 is the “owner” of the shipment. Thereceiving customer field describes the customer 420 that will bereceiving the package(s). The quantity field describes the number ofpackages included in the shipment. The quantity type field describes howthe item is going to be shipped. For example, pieces could describeindividual boxes where pallet describes multiple boxes on a largerpallet.

The reference number field describes an organization specific trackingcode for reference at a later date. The type field describes the type ofshipment. This is important because the type of shipment can alert thedriver to what he will be doing when he arrives at the stop. Forexample, a COD shipment would indicate the driver should collect money,whereas a “pickup-order” would tell the driver they are simplycollecting a part.

The tag field is used to group shipments in the system. These are usedfor automatic grouping when creating shipments and can be used to runbatches of shipment for each route. For example, one could have both aNext Day and a Same Day tag to split packages between multiple runs. Theflag field is used to attach additional informational data to shipments.These flags do not affect how shipments are handled. Instead, they areused more as informative items for the driver as they are printed on thelabels for each package.

The comments field allows drivers, shippers, and other system users 430to attach notes to a shipment. This is a shared notes field that can beedited by anyone during the life of a shipment. The issue date fieldtracks when the shipment object was added to the system.

Once a shipment record has been created, a user 430 will receive atracking number and an option to print labels for the shipment. All ofthis information is grouped together by customer 420 and stored in adatabase 410.

Second, the system also supports an API to receive shipments from othersystems. This functionality allows it to integrate into existinginventory and order processing systems. Businesses may create either anexport process or a real-time webhook to send shipments to the system asthey are processed. Therefore, there is no need to fully replace anexisting system, they can instead be augmented by the features includedin the system.

When the system 400 receives a new shipment a new record is stored inthe system 400. This record is permanently bound to the customer 420 whocreated the shipment. Therefore, users 430 with roles giving them accessto customer data will only be able to see shipments which they createdor were created by users 430 for the same customer 420. This allows fora multi-tenant implementation of the system 400 where multiple customers420 can coexist on the system 400 with each customer 420 only being ableto view and manage its own shipments.

Shipments added to the system are marked as “Outstanding” to indicatethat they have not yet been delivered. Users 430 with access to theseshipments can print shipping labels as needed which contain theinformation required to track the package during delivery; such asroute, number of total packages in the shipment, receiving customer 420,shipment type, and other important shipment related notes. Once ashipment has been created dispatchers are able to assign these shipmentsto a manifest, as further disclosed herein. The typical lifecycle of ashipment is set forth in FIG. 5.

Returns are represented in much the same way as shipments. They arerecords in the system database 410 that store information about itemsthat need to be received by drivers while servicing their routes. Asystem user 430 may use an online web form to request these returns. Ina preferred implementation, when requesting a return a user 430 is askedto enter the original invoice number for the product. A server checksthis information against the shipment records inside the system to findwhich customer 420 originally shipped the part and where it wasoriginally delivered. This functionality reduces the burden forrequesting returns by eliminating the need to fill in the detaileddelivery and pickup information. In addition, this logic helps ensurethat return items are received and delivered to the correct entities byacting as an audit of the user's 430 request.

According to an implementation of the invention, users 430 may choose toprint labels for returns that can be given to drivers to attach oncethey have received the package. These labels contain information onwhich customer 420 the package should be returned to, the part numberbeing returned, as well as the number of packages and the relatedinvoices. In a preferred implementation, forms may be printed forreturns which are auto-filled with the individual return information andprovides the driver with a template to collect information from thecustomer 420 upon receipt of the package.

Once a return has been added to the system dispatchers may assign it toa manifest. A return will show up on the manifest just like shipments,and will inform the driver servicing the manifest of what to expect toreceive while at the stop. Once shipments and returns have been added tothe system, manifests can be used to group these items for delivery. Thetypical lifecycle of a return is set forth in FIG. 6.

In a preferred implementation, there are two methods for creating amanifest. The first option is to create a manifest automatically. Thisprocess takes all of the outstanding shipments in a user's 430 selectionand creates multiple manifests, grouping items onto the manifest basedon customer route and shipment tag. Routes allow customers 420 to begrouped into geographically relevant areas for delivery. As used herein,routes are represented as a simple string field for customers 420 andcan be added with ease when new customers 420 are created. These routesare used to manage groups of customers 420 inside the system, and allowfor default delivery priorities to be established for the customers 420.Additionally, there are currently available tools and systems thatprioritize customers 420 based on route.

The second option is to create custom manifests. This option is veryflexible as it allows a dispatcher to assign his own manifest name andselect the individual shipments and returns to include or exclude.

In a preferred implementation only a dispatcher or other high-levelsystem wide user can create manifests. Among other reasons, this is dueto the fact that shipments from all customers 420 in the system need tobe aggregated onto the same manifest. Users 430 with system role 450permission to access all of the data in the system 400 can only accessthis scope of data.

Once a manifest has been created the dispatcher can generate a PDF, orother similar version, of the manifest that can be printed and sent withthe driver for delivery. This manifest contains all of the deliveryinformation for a specific route and provides fields for the driver totrack important information as he completes each stop. In addition topaper manifests, the system also supports a digital deliveryapplication. This feature allows dispatchers to not only remotely assignmanifests to drivers from a Manifest Routing interface, but dispatcherscan also track the progress and location of each driver in the system.FIG. 7 shows a sample image of a screenshot from the interface.

In a preferred implementation, the mobile driver application is aweb-based application that can be accessed from most modern smart phonesthrough a link available for all system instances. This link directs adriver to the system login webpage for the system application where eachdriver will enter his or her personal credentials to gain access. Once adriver has been authenticated he will be marked as active inside thesystem. In a preferred embodiment, drivers are authenticated with theirown client driver account which includes a driver number and a driverPIN. Subsequently, authenticated drivers will show up on the map as wellas the driver list for dispatchers. In a preferred implementation thedriver's location is determined by the device's GPS. This also indicatesto the dispatchers that the driver is ready to begin receivingmanifests.

Shortly after a manifest has been assigned to a driver the mobileapplication running on the driver's phone, or similar device, willupdate and present the driver with the first stop on that manifest. Asillustrated in FIG. 8, this screen also provides the driver with theaddress and other delivery information for that stop, as well as stopspecific actions the driver can use to record information for thedispatcher. Said information is accessible from a database via a server.

In one implementation a stop screen provides the driver with two ways toadvance to the next stop. First, if a driver completes the stop he canmark it as complete which will update his progress for the dispatcherand move him to the next stop. Second, he can choose to skip the stopwhich will take him to the next stop in the list, but it will return himto this stop once he has finished all of the other stops on his route.Yet another embodiment of the invention allows the ability for a driverto skip directly to a specific stop.

A preferred implementation of the invention further comprises the mobiledriver application facilitating asynchronous communication withdispatchers via a built in text chat system. These messages may be sentto the driver even when he is away from his device and will be receivedthe next time the driver accesses the interface.

In a preferred embodiment, the system sets forth a method for shipping,delivery, returns management, and overall tracking. Generally, in apreferred implementation, a server receives a request from a clientdevice of a user. The request may be for specific information relatingto a shipment, delivery, return, or tracking of a shipment, delivery, orreturn. The server determines the customer account and permission levelsfor the user requesting information. The server then obtains contentfrom a database based on the user being permitted to access the databasecontent. A server then transmits the content to the client device ofsaid user. Depending on the user's permission level, the user may beable to manipulate the content transmitted from the database. Themanipulated data may then be stored on a database.

In a preferred embodiment, customer actions and data are tied to aspecific customer such that the actions and data relating to thecustomer are grouped with that customer, separately from other customerson the system. Each customer has at least one user that is tied to thatcustomer. Users may have certain permission levels that allow the usersto access or manipulate certain actions and data relating to thecustomer to which they are grouped. Generally, a user requests a servervia a user interface to access customer actions and data. The serververifies the user's permission level to access said customer actions anddata. It is understood that various forms of verification may be used,including login names and passwords, device recognition, or other knownauthentication means.

The server accesses customer actions and data based on the requestinguser's permission level. The server then communicates, based on thereceived user request, the requested customer actions and data. Theserver then generates output information that includes the requestedcustomer actions and data. The server then provides the outputinformation to a user interface relating to the user's request andpermission levels.

In a preferred implementation, the user permission levels are based oncustomer and system roles. System roles allow a user to access systemwide data. Customer roles allow a user to access information relatingsolely to the customer to which the user is tied.

In one implementation the system roles have at least one dispatcherpermission level that allows a user to access system wide data for allcustomers. A user with said dispatcher permission level has access toall shipments, deliveries, and returns for all customers in the system.The user with the dispatcher permission level is able to create a jointmanifest for a group of customers. The joint manifest is provided to adriver for delivering shipments and accepting returns for a group ofcustomers. A dispatcher may also provide a manifest for one customer,and thus the manifest would not be a joint manifest.

As set forth herein, it is understood that the invention may comprisevarious customer and system roles. The titles of each customer andsystem role are not meant to limit the scope of the invention. It isfurther understood that customized system and customer roles may becreated for a specific application and still fall within the scope ofthis invention. The overall concept is that permission levels may be setto allow only certain users to access and/or manipulate certain data.

In one implementation the manifest being provided to a driver fordelivering shipments and accepting returns is on a driver userinterface. In a preferred implementation, the driver user interface isaccessible to a driver via a mobile application. The mobile applicationis in communication with the system. The mobile application displaysinformation on the driver user interface based on said driver beingauthenticated.

A driver may be authenticated based on a driver's specific credentials.It is understood that any method of verifying one's identity and/orcredentials may be utilized. In one embodiment, the authenticatingcredentials may be one of a login name and password, SIMM cardauthentication, device authentication code, or other similar step ofverifying one's identity.

A further implementation comprises the system receiving, by a processingdevice, customer identification information and user identificationinformation. The processing device further receives transaction typeinformation relating to at least one of: a sale, delivery, return,tracking or an administrative action. The processing device furtherreceives a user request for customer information, the customerinformation being accessible based on a user's permission level. Aprocessing device receives information related to a user's request basedon the user's permission level. The processing device communicates thecustomer information, limited by the user's permission level. Theprocessing device provides an user interface the requested userinformation, limited by the user's permission level.

Depending on the user's permission level, the processing device mayreceive interactive user response information associated with an userinterface. The processing device generates a user's input and determinesat least one supporting application, or group of applications, to usefor processing the user input. The processing device communicates theinformation to a user interface. The processing device updates theoutput information for the user interface and provides the updatedoutput information. The updated output information is recorded andstored in the database.

Yet another implementation comprises a processing device receivingcustomer identification information relating to a specific customer. Thecustomer identification information further comprises users whom aretied with that customer. The processing device further receives useridentification information. The user identification informationcomprises permission levels for the users to access and manipulatecertain customer information. The processing device logs into at leastone of a group of applications based on a single login and the receiveduser identification information. The processing device receives clientidentification information. The processing device further receivestransaction type information relating to at least one of: a shipment, areturn, delivery, tracking, or an administrative action.

The processing device then communicates with at least one of a pluralityof applications, based on the received user identification information,the received customer identification information, and the receivedtransaction type information. The processing device then generatesintegrated output information that includes an output from at least oneof a plurality of applications. The processing device then generatescustomer information associated with the received transaction typeinformation. The processing device then provides an integrated userinterface the integrated output information and the requested customerinformation. The processing device then receives interactive userresponse information associated with the integrated user interface. Theprocessor then provides, based on the received interactive user responseinformation, at least one supporting application, of the group ofapplications, to use for processing the action. The processor thencommunicates with the at least one supporting application. Theprocessing device then updates, based on communicating with the at leastone supporting application, the integrated output information for theintegrated user interface. The processor then provides for presentationin the integrated user interface the updated integrated outputinformation. The updated integrated output information is used tocomplete the action.

Yet another implementation of the invention sets forth a method forshipping, delivery, returns, and tracking comprising storinginstructions on a memory, and executing those instructions, by at leastone processor. The processor executes instructions to receive customeridentification information. The processor further receives useridentification information. In a preferred implementation the users aretied to a customer. The processor receives transaction type informationrelating to an action associated with at least one of: a shipment, areturn, delivery, tracking, or an administrative action. The processorcommunicates with at least one of a plurality of applications based onthe received user identification information, the received clientidentification information, and the received transaction typeinformation. The processor generates, based on communicating with atleast one of a plurality of applications, requested customer informationassociated with the received action type information and user request.The processor provides, for presentation, an integrated user interface.The integrated output information and the requested customerinformation. The processor receives interactive user responseinformation associated with the integrated user interface. The processorprovides for presentation in the integrated user interface theinformation relating to the requested customer. The processordetermines, based on the received interactive user response information,at least one supporting application, of the group of applications, touse for processing the action. The processor communicates with the atleast one supporting application. The processor updates, based oncommunicating with the at least one supporting application, theintegrated output information for the integrated user interface. Theprocessor provides, for presentation in the integrated user interface,the updated integrated output information being used to complete thetransaction.

It will also be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art thataspects of the invention, as described above, may be implemented in manydifferent forms of software, firmware, and hardware in theimplementations illustrated in the figures. The actual software code orspecialized control hardware used to implement aspects consistent withthe present invention is not limiting of the present invention. Thus,the operation and behavior of the aspects were described withoutreferences to the specific software code—it being understood that one ofordinary skill in the art would be able to design software and controlhardware to implement the aspects based on the description herein.

1. A method for shipping, delivery, returns and tracking comprising: a.Storing customer actions and data in a database; i. Said customeractions and data being tied to a specific customer such that saidactions and data relating to said customer are grouped with saidcustomer; ii. Each customer having an option of having zero or moreusers tied to said customer; iii. Said users having certain permissionlevels that allow each user to access or manipulate certain actions anddata relating to said customer; b. Requesting, by a user, a server via auser interface to access customer actions and data; i. Said serververifying the user's permission level to access said customer actionsand data; ii. Said accessed customer actions and data being limited bythe permission level of said user; c. Receiving, by a server, requestedcustomer actions and data from a database based on a user's request andpermission level; d. Communicating, by the server, based on the receiveduser request, the requested customer actions and data; e. Generating, bythe server, output information that includes the requested customeractions and data; and f. Providing, by the server to the user, saidoutput information to a user interface relating to the user's requestand permission level.
 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising, acustomer having zero users is only being able to receive shipments andmay not perform any other actions required by user permission levels. 3.The method of claim 1, further comprising: a. Said user permission levelbeing based on customer and system roles; b. Said system roles allowinga user to access system wide data; and c. Said customer roles allowing auser to access information relating solely to the customer to which theuser is tied.
 4. The method of claim 3, further comprising: a. Saidsystem roles having at least one dispatcher permission level that allowsa user to access system wide data for all customers; b. A user with saiddispatcher permission level having access to all shipments, deliveries,and returns for all customers in the system; c. The user with saiddispatcher permission level being able to create a manifest for one ormore customers; and d. said manifest being provided to a driver fordelivering shipments and/or accepting returns for one or more customers.5. The method of claim 4, further comprising: a. the manifest may becreated automatically or customized by the user with said dispatcherpermission level; b. An automatically created manifest being created bycompiling all of the outstanding shipments and returns, and groupingitems onto the manifest based on customer location, route, and shipmenttag; c. said grouping being based on geographically relevant areas fordelivery or pick-up; and d. A customized manifest being created wherethe user with said dispatcher permission level assigns his own manifestname and selects the individual shipments and returns to include orexclude from the customized manifest.
 6. The method of claim 4, furthercomprising: a. Said manifest being provided to a driver for deliveringshipments and accepting returns on a driver user interface; b. Saiddriver user interface being accessible to a driver via a mobileapplication; c. Said mobile application being in communication with thedatabase via a server; and d. Said mobile application displayingdelivery information on the driver user interface.
 7. The method ofclaim 4, further comprising: a. Said user with dispatcher permissionlevel navigating, via a web browser, to a dispatcher user interface; b.The dispatcher user interface having a map showing, in real time, thelocation of a driver; and c. The location of the driver being determinedby a driver GPS device.
 8. The method of claim 7, further comprising themap on said dispatcher user interface further displaying, in real time,delivery and pick-up progress.
 9. The method of claim 6, furthercomprising: a. said mobile application being in communication with thedatabase via a server; b. a dispatcher user interface being incommunication with the database via a server; c. the dispatcher userinterface having a map showing, in real time, the location of a driver;and d. a user having permission level to access the dispatcher userinterface and a driver accessing a driver user interface being incontact via the server.
 10. A method for shipping, delivery, returns,and tracking comprising: a. Receiving, by a processing device, customeridentification information; b. Said customer identification informationcomprising zero or more users with user identification information; c.Receiving, by the processing device, user identification information, ifany, relating to said customer; d. Receiving, by the processing device,transaction type information relating to at least one of: a sale,delivery, return, tracking or an administrative action; e. Receiving, bythe processing device and from a user, a user request for customerinformation, said customer information being accessible based on auser's permission level; f. Receiving, by the processing device and froma database, information relating to a user's request based on the user'spermission level; g. Communicating, by the processing device from adatabase, said customer information, limited by the user's permissionlevel; h. Providing, by the processing device and for presentation to anuser interface, the requested user information limited by the user'spermission level; i. Receiving, by the processing device, interactiveuser response information associated with an user interface, saidinteractive user response being limited by the user's permission level;j. Generating, by the processing device and based on receiving theinteractive user response information, a user's input; k. Determining,by the processing device and based on the received interactive userresponse information, at least one supporting application, or group ofapplications, to use for processing the user input; l. Providing, by theprocessing device and for presentation in an user interface, the user'sinput; m. Communicating, by the processing device, with the at least onesupporting application; n. Updating, by the processing device and basedon communicating with the at least one supporting application, theoutput information for the user interface; and o. Providing, by theprocessing device and for presentation in the user interface, theupdated output information, the updated output information beingrecorded and stored in the database.
 11. The method of claim 10, furthercomprising a customer having customer identification information may nothave a user with user identification information, and said customer mayonly be able to receive shipments.
 12. The method of claim 10, furthercomprising: a. Said user permission level being based on customer andsystem roles; b. Said system roles allowing a user to access system widedata; and c. Said customer roles allowing a user to access informationrelating solely to the customer to which the user is tied.
 13. Themethod of claim 12, further comprising: a. Said system roles having atleast one dispatcher permission level that allows a user to accesssystem wide data for all customers; b. A user with said dispatcherpermission level having access to all shipments, deliveries, and returnsfor all customers in the system; c. The user with said dispatcherpermission level being able to create a joint manifest for a group ofcustomers; and d. said joint manifest being provided to a driver fordelivering shipments and accepting returns for a group of customers. 14.The method of claim 13, further comprising: a. the manifest is createdautomatically or customized by a user having the dispatcher permissionlevel; b. An automatically created manifest being created by compilingall of the outstanding shipments and returns, and grouping items ontothe manifest based on customer location, route, and shipment tag; c.said grouping being based on geographically relevant areas for deliveryor pick-up; and d. A customized manifest being created where a userhaving the dispatcher permission level assigns his own manifest name andselects the individual shipments and returns to include or exclude fromthe customized manifest.
 15. The method of claim 13, further comprising:a. Said manifest being provided to a driver for delivering shipments andaccepting returns on a driver user interface; b. Said driver userinterface being accessible to a driver via a mobile application; c. Saidmobile application being in communication with the system; and d. Saidmobile application displaying information on the driver user interface.16. The method of claim 13, further comprising: a. Said user having thedispatcher permission level navigating, via a web browser, to adispatcher user interface; b. The dispatcher user interface having a mapshowing, in real time, the location of a driver; and c. The location ofthe driver being determined by a driver GPS device.
 17. The method ofclaim 15, further comprising: a. said mobile application being incommunication with a server; b. the server being in communication with adispatcher user interface; c. the dispatcher user interface having a mapshowing, in real time, the location of a driver; and d. a user havingpermission level to access the dispatcher user interface and a driveraccessing a driver user interface being in contact via the server.
 18. Amethod for shipping, delivery, returns, and tracking comprising: a.Receiving, by a processing device, customer identification information;i. Said customer identification information comprising informationrelating to a specific customer; ii. Said customer identificationinformation further comprising users whom are tied with said customer;b. Receiving, by a processing device, user identification information;i. Said user identification information being tied to a user of aspecific customer; ii. Said user identification information comprisingpermission levels for said user to access and manipulate certaincustomer information; c. Logging, by the processing device, into atleast one of a group of applications based on a single login and thereceived user identification information; d. Receiving, by theprocessing device, client identification information; e. Receiving, bythe processing device, transaction type information relating to a atleast one of: a shipment, a return, delivery, tracking, or anadministrative action; f. Communicating, by the processing device, withat least one of a plurality of applications, based on the received useridentification information, the received customer identificationinformation, and the received transaction type information; g.Generating, by the processing device and based on communicating with atleast one of a plurality of applications, integrated output informationthat includes an output from the at least one of a plurality ofapplications; h. Generating by the processing device and based oncommunicating with the plurality of applications, customer informationassociated with the received transaction type information; i. Providing,by the processing device and for presentation to an integrated userinterface, the integrated output information and the requested customerinformation; j. Receiving, by the processing device, interactive userresponse information associated with the integrated user interface; k.Providing, by the processing device and based on the receivedinteractive user response information, at least one supportingapplication, of the group of applications, to use for processing theaction; l. Communicating, by the processing device, with the at leastone supporting application; m. Updating, by the processing device andbased on communicating with the at least one supporting application, theintegrated output information for the integrated user interface; and n.Providing, by the processing device and for presentation in theintegrated user interface, the updated integrated output information,the updated integrated output information being used to complete theaction.
 19. The method of claim 18, further comprising: a. Said userpermission levels being based on customer and system roles; b. Saidsystem roles allowing a user to access system wide data; and c. Saidcustomer roles allowing a user to access information relating solely tothe customer to which the user is tied.
 20. The method of claim 19,further comprising: a. Said system roles having at least one dispatcherpermission level that allows a user to access system wide data for allcustomers; b. A user with said dispatcher permission level having accessto all shipments, deliveries, and returns for all customers in thesystem; c. The user with said dispatcher permission level being able tocreate a joint manifest for a group of customers; and d. said jointmanifest being provided to a driver for delivering shipments andaccepting returns for a group of customers.
 21. The method of claim 20,further comprising: a. Said manifest being provided to a driver fordelivering shipments and accepting returns on a driver user interface;b. Said driver user interface being accessible to driver via a mobileapplication; c. Said mobile application being in communication with aserver; and d. Said mobile application displaying information on thedriver user interface.
 22. The method of claim 21, further comprising:a. Said user having a dispatcher permission level navigating, via a webbrowser, to a dispatcher user interface; b. The dispatcher userinterface having a map showing, in real time, the location of a driver;c. The location of the driver being determined by a driver GPS device.d. the dispatcher user interface having a map showing, in real time, thelocation of a driver; and e. a user having permission level to accessthe dispatcher user interface and a driver accessing a driver userinterface being in contact via the system.